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How firms undertake organizational changes to shift to more-exploratory strategies: A process perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Jane Bjørn Vedel

    (CBS - Copenhagen Business School [Copenhagen])

  • Olga Kokshagina

    (CGS i3 - Centre de Gestion Scientifique i3 - Mines Paris - PSL (École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris) - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - I3 - Institut interdisciplinaire de l’innovation - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, RMIT University - Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University)

Abstract

Firms' organization of exploratory research has interested scholars of both research policy and organization theory, yet we still know too little about how firms undertake organizational changes to shift to more-exploratory strategies. Adopting a process perspective, we explore this question through a longitudinal, comparative case study of a Danish pharmaceutical firm and a French-Italian semiconductor firm. We demonstrate how firms adjust their organizational structures to increase exploration, a process of constantly addressing countervailing organizational and interorganizational demands by deploying, combining, and changing balancing mechanisms at the organizational and managerial levels. Moreover, our findings show that firms' different organizational structures affect their adaptations to exploratory outcomes. These findings advance theory because they illuminate the dynamic interplay between firms' adjustments of organizational structures and their movements toward more exploration. We use a recursive process model to theorize our findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Jane Bjørn Vedel & Olga Kokshagina, 2021. "How firms undertake organizational changes to shift to more-exploratory strategies: A process perspective," Post-Print hal-02943926, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02943926
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2020.104118
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://minesparis-psl.hal.science/hal-02943926
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    References listed on IDEAS

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